Napoli - Juventus Betting Preview: Expect the visitors to strike first in an early Scudetto decider

By Al Hain-Cole

The hosts need to win in order to maintain the pressure at the top of the table, but Al Hain-Cole thinks that their poor form in front of goal could put them in trouble early on

Although there is still almost a third of the Serie A season left to play, Friday’s clash between Napoli and Juventus could quite reasonably be described as an early title decider.

A win for Walter Mazzarri’s men would bring them back to within three points of the league leaders, while defeat would leave them with an almost certainly insurmountable gap to claw back.

Unfortunately for the hosts, they go into this match without a win in their last five, and are underdogs at 2/1 (3.00) with Bet Victor to pick up a crucial three points.

In contrast, Antonio Conte has guided his side to four wins in the last five matches, and sees them start the game as favourites at 31/20 (2.55).

Last year’s corresponding fixture at the Stadio San Paolo resulted in a thrilling 3-3 draw, and you can get odds of 23/10 (3.30) on this one finishing all square once again.

However, an equally high-scoring encounter seems unlikely this time round, as i Partenopei appear to have lost their touch in front of goal recently.

The hosts have failed to score in their last four competitive matches, so are unlikely to come out in prolific form against a team that has kept three clean sheets in their previous four.

I Bianconeri, on the other hand, can usually be relied upon to start on the front foot, and have taken the lead in eight of their last 10 games.

With the visiting team sure to start more confidently in attack, they are the obvious choice to get the ball rolling in Friday, at healthy odds of 9/10 (1.90).

In fact, the travelling support may not have to wait for too long at all before starting the festivities, as their club have hit the back of the net inside the opening 20 minutes in three of the last five games.

With this in mind, it makes sense to back Juventus scoring their opening goal within the first 27 minutes, at inviting 12/5 (3.40) odds.